Apparatus for use in the production of storage battery electrode elements



y 5, 1932- P. D. PAYNE ET AL 1,366,172

V APPARATUS FOR USE IN THE PRODUCTION OF STORAGE BATTERY ELECTRODEELEMENTS Original Filed June 4, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 2/ v ljf4lgl/g/lid4 l 4 I "I I i ML"; if?

APPARATUS FOR USE IN THE PRODUCTION OF STORAGE BATTERY ELECTRODEELEMENTS Original Filed June 4, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 y 5, 1932- P. 0.PAYNE ET AL 1,366,172

F m ar'i m llllllila llllll J llllllllllllllllllimlllllllllllllllllhl al!\!lll| v Ill i IIIIIIIHFmillllllllllllllllll 1llll!!i Patented July 5,1932 UNITED STATES ENT OFFICE) 1 PAUL n. PAYNE; on IRVI'YIL-TGVTON, newJERSEY; AND MORTON rvnnsnmor nROOKLYn,

NEW YORK, assrenon TO THOMAS A. Jamison, INCORPORATED, or wns'r ORANGE,NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION or N wJnRsnY.

APPARATUS IFOR'USE IN THE PRODUCTION OF STORAGE BATTERY EIiECTRODFELEMENTS i a Serial No.

The present application is a division of our co-pending applicationSerial NO. 113,613, filed June 4, 1926, and entitled Storage'batteryelectrode elements and the production thereof.

Our invention relates to apparatus which while adapted for other uses,is particularly applicable for use in producing storage bat teryelectrode elements especially those of the form and produced by themethod described and claimed in our co-pending application referred'toabove.

The principal object of our invention is to provideimproved apparatus ofthis character which is of simple construction and which is particularlyeffective in applying layers of finely divided active material or thelike to suitable supports such as sheets formed of asbestos or othersuitable insulating material.

Other objects and features of our invention will be hereinafter morefullydescribed and claimed. i

In order that our invention maybe more clearly understood, attention isdirected to the drawings accompanying and forming a part of thisspecification and in'which:

Figure 1 is a view inside elevation,- partly in section, of a preferredform of apparatus embodying our invention which is especially adaptedfor applying layers of finely'divided dry active material to insulatingsheets or other supports; 1 I I Fig. 2 is a. plan view of the apparatusshown in Fig. 1; I p 7 Fig. 3 is an end view in elevation, partly brokenaway, looking from the right in Figs. 1 and 2; 7 V

Figs. 4 and 5 are detailed sectional views taken on a line correspondingto the line A-A of Fig. 2, parts being shown in elevation, illustratinghow the apparatus is used in applying a layer of active material to eachside of an insulating sheet or support;

Fig. 6 is a plan view of an electrode element comprising an insulatingsheet having a layer of active material applied to each side or surfacethereof;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view on the hue B+B of Fig. 6; and

Fig. 8 is an enlarged detailed sectional 7 application filed March8,1929. 345,571.

viewiof an electrode element such as illustratedin Figs. 6'and .7showing a portion of.

position a'member to which the activematerialis to be applied, a track'T removably mounted onthe base 1; and a device A slidably and removablymounted on the track and'comprising a hopper for the active material andmeans actuated. in the sliding movement of said-device on said track forfeedin the-active material from said hopper. ecured in any. suitablemanner to the base lat oppositeends of the latter are two transversebars 2,and' secured to the base.

between said bars andmidway between the sides ofthe-base are twocylindrical supports 01' spacing members 3 which are preferably slightlythicker'than the bars2. The spacing members 8 are secured to the base 1by means of their reduced 'downwardly'extending cylindrical portions4;-,which have a driv-- ing fit in Openings provided in the base. Thespacing members 3 are also provided with reduced upwardly extendingcylindrical fportions 5 which are of the same size and the same distanceapartas the openings. provided for the poles in the insulating sheets ofthe electrode elements. The track T is in the form of a rectangularframe comprising two parallel side rails 6 and 7 rigidly securedtogether in proper spaced relation by two transverse bars Sand screws 9extending through said bars and threaded intothe rails. The bars 8 arerespectively disposed in. recesses provided in the lowersides of therails 6 and 7 at the endsthereof, the construction being.

such that the bars when secured to the rails by the screws 9, willbeflushwith the lower surfaces of the rails. Affixed to each of the bars8 midway of the length thereof is a cylindrical pinlO The pins 10project downwardly from the bars 8 and when the track T is applied tothe base 1 these pins respectively engage and'fit closely withincylindrition on the base. The rail 6 is provided at the outer sidethereof for its entire length I with'a rectangular recess or cut-outportion 12,'and a longitudinally extending rack 13 is disposed in saidrecess 12 and secured to the rail by screws 14,

The device A comprises a substantially cylindrical hollow casing 17 oneend of which is integrally formed with the main body portion thereof andthe other end 18 of which is formed separately from the said bodyportion andis removably secured thereto. The casing 17 is of such widthas to fit fairly closely between the rails 6 and 7, and is supported forsliding movement on said rails by means of tworectangular bars 19respectively s'ecured tothe ends ofthe casing by screws 20. The casing17 is cut away at the bottom to provide the same with a lower flatsurface21, the construction and arrangement being such that when thedevice A- ispositioned on the track with the bars 19 engaging the uppersurfaces of the rails 6 and 7, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, the casing 17will extend down between the rails with'the lower flat surface 21thereof parallel to the base 1 and only a slightdistance above the planeof the upper ends of the cylindrical extensions 5"of the members 3. Thecylindrical chamber within the casing 17 is substantially of the samelength as the width of the layers of active material to be appliedtotheinsulating sheets or other supports in formingthe electrodeelements, and the casing for substantially the entire length of the saidchamber, is provided with a discharge opening 22 intersecting the lowerfiat surface 21 thereof. The means for feeding material from the hopperofthe device A comprises a cylindrical member or barrel 23 which fitsclosely within the chamber of the casing 17 and is rotatably mountedtherein by being secured to shaft 24. which is journaled in the ends of.the casing. The shaft 24 extends outwardly beyond the end wall 18 of thecasing 17 and has a gear wheel 25 secured thereto by means of a screw26. The gearwheel 25 is adapted to mesh'with the teeth of the rack 13 inthe sliding movement 7 of the device A on the track T,"to thereby effectrotary movement of the barrel 23 and cause the latter to remove activematerial from the hopper and discharge the same through the opening 22.The casing 17 in addition to having the lower cut-away portion providingthe flat surface 21, also has an upper inclinedcutaway portionintercepting the wall of the chamber in the casing to thereby provide aninlet opening 27 to said chamber for substantially its entire length.The hopper 28 of the device A, is substantially rectangular in shape andis suitably secured at its lower end to the casing 17 tightly about theedges-of the said inclined ,rel23 is provided with a series of similarclosely acent parallel pockets 29 separated by thin walls. orpartitions, said pockets eX- tending lengthwise of the barrel andparallel to the axis thereof. The series of pockets 29 corresponds inlength and widthto the layers of active material of the electrodeelements to be produced, and the ends of such series are separated by anunrecessed cylin drical surface portion 30 of the barrel. A portion ofthe barrel 23 extends into the hopper 28 through the inlet opening 27and accordinglyall of the pockets 29 in such portion of thebarrel' willunder the action of gravity, become filled with the very finely dividedactive material M with whiclrthe hopper is kept supplied, the saidmaterial being in a dry loose state and without any binder. The hopper28 is provided with a transverse wall or partition 31, extending fromthe right-hand wall thereof andterminating short of the lefthand wallthereof, referring to Fig. 1, so as to divide the hopper intotwocommunicating chambers. By thischambers provided by the partition'31. th s glves an indication to the operator that additionalmaterial-should be added. The inlet opening'27 in casing 17 is definedat its side edges by knife-edged flanges 32 and 33 pro vided at thelower end of the hopper 28. Dur ing the feeding of material from thehopper 28, the device A is moved on the trac r T from the right to theleft. referring to Figs. 1. 2, 4 and 5, and in such movement the barrel23 will be rotated, by reason of the engagement of the gear 25 with therack 13, in the direction of the arrow shown in Figs. 1. 4 and 5. Theflanges 32 and 33 at the lower end of the hopper 28 are arranged withthe knife edges thereof very closely adjacent the surface of the barrel23, and so that said knife edges extend at an angle to the pockets 2.whereby. in the movement of said pockets past the knife edges each ofsaid pockets wil be gradually uncovered it enters the hopper andgradually covered cut off from communication with. the hopper as itleaves the latter. In the rotation of the be each of the pockets 29 willas it enters hopper 28 past the knife edge of the 32, by reason of thegradual uncovering thereof and the constant efiec'tive head of finelydivided active material M maintained thereabove, become completely anduniformly filled with such material; and as each of the pockets 29 ismoved from the hopper 28 past the knife edge of the flange 33said knifeedge will act to scrape and shear off any small lumps or particles ofactive material and any portions of such lumps or'particles projectingabove the pocket. Because of the inclination of the cut-away portion ofthe casing- 17 about which the hopper 28 is secured the effective headof the material M will be greatest over each pocket 29 at the pointwhere it enters the hopper and accordingly each pocket upon entering thehopper, will become filled with a uniform and fairlycompact mass of saidmaterial; Also by reason of the inclination ofthe knife edge of theflange 33 with respect to the pockets 29 and the fact that such knifeedge is located substantially at the highest point in the path of travelof the surface portion of the barrel and the pockets therein, theshearing action of the knife edge on the particles of material.

is rendered more effectiveand the likelihood-- of any particles or lumpsof active material becoming bound. between'the unrecessed surfaceportions of the barrel 23 and the flange 33 and the casing 17 ispractically obviated. In order to further insurethe complete and uniformfilling of the pockets 29 in the barrel 23 and the complete discharge ofmaterial from the pockets, meaus'is provided for agitating the contentsof thehopper 28-to cause the material M to flow freely from the latterinto the pockets and for vibrating the drum 23, during the movement ofthe device A on the rails 6 and 7 in effecting a deposition of a layerof active material'onthe insulating sheet orother sup ort. As shown,this means comprises a resilient member 34 secured by screws 35 to theend wall 18 ofcasing 17 and provided adjacent its free end with adownward projection 36 disposed in the path of the teeth of gear 25.Upon rotation of the gear 25 it will be obvious that the teeth thereofwill vibrate the resilient member 34 and that thereby vibrations will beimparted to the entire hopper device A.

The "outer surface of the gear 25 is provided with a radial indicatingmark I which is registered with a similar mark I provided on the end 18of casing 17 so as tosetthe barrel 23 in the proper angular positionincasing 17, when the device A is positioned on the right hand end oftrack T, referring to Fig. 1, preparatory to moving said device alongsaid track in applying a layer of finely divided active material to thepresser plate or insulating sheet supported on the base 1, ashereinafter described.

In Figs. 6 and 7 we have shown an electrode element adapted to beproduced by theus'e T of the apparatus above described. This electrodeelement consists of a rectangular I sulating sheet 40 formed of asbestosor other midway between its side edges the insulating sheet 40 1sprovlded' with ClIClllfLI openings I 43 through which the poles of abattery pile extend when a'plurality of the electrode ele-. ments' areassembled into. such apile. The sheet 40 is also provided centrallythereof with a smaller circular opening 44, and when a plurality ofelements such as described are assembled into a battery pile the centralopenings in the insulating sheets thereof provide a path for thecirculation ofielectrolyte. To prevent the layers of active material onthe insulating sheet 40 from shedding orbeing broken ofi at their edgesand from cominginto contact with the poles which are to extend throughthe openings 43, and in order to further facilitate the circulation ofelec,

videdwith uncovered portions carrying no active material namely.'the'-edge portions 45,

and the channeling consisting of the annular portions 43 and 44 and "thestraight, narrow portions 46, 46 located midway of the edges of thesheet and extending between the said annular portions. I

Each ofthe layers of active material of the as to be very-dense and onlyslightly permeable by the electrolyte and the sections 49 being muchless dense and much more readily permeable by the electrolyte. It willbe apparent that the less dense sections 49 of each of the layers'ofactive material in the elements described, or at least a majority ofsuch sections, are intercepted by and there elementshown in Figs 6 and 7consists of a contmuous dense coherent channeled sheet of fore in directcommunication with the channeling extending through such layer at the.central portion thereof and consisting of the channels 46 .46 and thecircular enlargements. thereof provided by the annular, uncoveredportions 43' and 44 of the insulating sheet,

and that through such channeling the said sections 49 are also incommunication'with the central. opening .44 of the insulating sheetThese sections 49 form paths whereby the electrolyte may more readilyreach all portions of the layers ofactive material, and

they cooperate with the openings 44 in the I insulating sheets and thechanneling extending through the layers of active material to furtherfacilitate and increase the circulation of electrolyte through anassembled battery pile. The active material is applied to the insulatingsheet of an element such as shown in Figs. 6 and 7, so that thechannelings in the two layers of such material and the correspondingsections of such layers are in alignment. 2

The surface portion ofthe barrel 23 having the closely adjacent parallelpockets 29 therein is provided with a central solid or unrecessedsection 29 corresponding in shape to the channeling and the circularenlargements of such channeling with which each layer of an electrodeelement, such as shown and described herein, is provided. The purpose ofsuch solid or unrecessed portion 29, as will be obvious, is to block outand prevent the deposition of active material on a portion of thesupport or insulating sheet to which a layer of active material isapplied in the operation of the device A, corresponding with thechanneling in each layer of active material of the completed element. F

In producing an element such as shown in Figs. 6 and 7, we proceed asfollows: Aflat rectangular presser plate P of the same length as theinsulating sheet e but slightly wider than the latter, is mounted on thespacing members or supports 3 carried by the basel, with the circularopenings 5 provided therein adjacent its ends engaged by the reducedcylindrical extensions 5 of the members 3.

The gear of the device A is turned to a position in which theindicatingmark I thereon registers with the indicating mark I on the end 18 of thecasing 17 so as to properly position the barrel 23 within the latter.The device A with the hopper 28 full of the dry loose finely dividedactive material to be deposited, for example, finely divided iron oroxide of iron, is then'mounted, referring to Figs. 1, 2, a and 5, on theright hand end of track T just beyond the adjacent end of the rack 13and is moved to the left so as to traverse the presser plate P for itsentire'length. In this movement of the device A a layer 41 of finelydivided iron is deposited from the pockets 29 of the barrel 23 throughthe discharge opening 22 onto the upper surface of the presser plate P,such layer being of the same extent and configuration as the layer 41 ofthe finished element except that it is made up of a series oftransversely extending slightly spaced parallel and uniform sections{18' of loose finely divided active material. The device A is nowremoved from the track T, the insulating sheet i0 is placed on the layer41 with the extensions 5 of the spacingmembers 3 engaging the openings43 in said sheet, and a device identical with the device A, but havingits hopper filled with finely divided nickel hydroxide in a dry loosestate track towards the left to traverse the sheet 40 and depositthereon a layer 42 of active material. The layer 42 is identical withthe layer 41 deposited on the presser plate P, exceptthat it is formedof a series of slightly spaced parallel sections of finely dividednickel hydroxide. The track T and the depositing or hopper devicemounted thereon are then removed from the base 1. A second presser platesimilar to the presser plate P, is then placed on the layer 42 of activematerial. The fixture consisting of the two presser plates with the twolayers 41' and 42' of active material and the interposed insulatingsheet 10 disposed therein, is then removed from the base 1 and subjectedto an enormous pressure,'p.referably a pressure of from two to ten tonsper square inch, in a hydraulic press. Under this pressure each of thelayers 41 and 12' of dry loose finely'divided active material iscompacted and the sections 48 thereof are spread out and merged so as toform a continuous dense co herent sheetorlayer of uniform thickness witha smooth fiat surface. Each such sheet, however, will, as indicated inFig. 8, consist of a series of slightly spaced very dense parallelsections 48, corresponding to the sections 48 deposited on the presserplate P and insulat ng sheet 40 from the hopper devices, and relativelynarrow intermediate parallel sections 49 of much less density 'which areformed by the merging of the edge portions of the adjacent sections 18under the pressure to which the latter were subjected in the fixtureconsisting of the two presser plates. It is to be distinctly understoodthat the apparatus specifically described herein is subject to variouschanges and modifications without departure from the spirit of ourinvention and the scope of the appended claims. Having now fully.described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to protect byLetters Patent is as follows: V 1. In apparatus of the characterdescribed, a base having supporting me ans for a member to be coated, adevice mounted on said base for sliding movement in a path traversingsaid supporting means, said: device comprising a hopper, a casing havingan inlet open ing communicating with said hopper and a dischargeopening, and a rotatable pocketed barrel disposed in said casing forremoving material from said hopper and discharging it through saiddischarge opening, and means for effecting rotation of said barrel uponsliding movement of the said device on said base, substantially asdescribed.

2. In apparatus of the character described, abase having supportingmeans for a member to be coated, a device mounted on said base forsliding movement in a path traversing said supporting means, said devicecompris ing a hopper, a casing having an inlet opening communicatingwith said hopper and a discharge opening, and a rotatable pocketedbarrel disposed in said casing for removing material from said hopperand diseharging it through said discharge opening, means for effectingrotation of said barrel upon sliding movement of the said device on saidbase, and means for vibrating said barrel upon the rota tion thereof,substantially as described.

3. In apparatus of the character described, a base having supportingmeans for a member to be coated, a device mounted on said base forsliding movement in a path traversing said supporting means, said devicecomprising a hopper, a casing having an inlet opening communicating withsaid hopper and a discharge opening, and a rotatable pocketed barreldisposed in said casing for removing material from said hopper anddischarging it through said discharge opening, means for effectingrotation of said barrel upon sliding movement of the said device on saidbase, and means for vibrating said barrel and agitating the contents ofsaid hopper upon the rotation of the barrel, substantially as described.

4. In apparatus of the character described, a device comprising a casinghaving an inlet opening and a discharge opening, a pocketed rotatablebarrel mounted and fitting closely Within said casing, and a hopperconnected with said casing about said inlet opening, said hopper havinga transverse partition extending from one wall thereof and terminatingshort of its opposite Wall, said partition being located directly overthat portion of the barrel which extends into the hopper through saidinlet opening, substantially as described.

5. In apparatus of the character described, a device comprising acylindrical casing having an upper inlet opening and a lower dischargeopening, a rotatable barrel mounted and fitting closely within saidcasing, and a hopper connected with said casing about said inletopening, the surface portion of said barrel being provided with aplurality of pockets extending longitudinally of the barrel, said devicehaving a knife-edged portion disposed closely adjacentthe surface ofsaid barrel, the knife edge of said portion defining one edge ofsaidinlet opening and 6X- tending at an angle to the pockets in the barrel,substantially as described.

6. In apparatus of the character described, a device comprising acylindrical casing having an upper inlet opening and a lower dischargeopening, a rotatable barrel mounted and fitting closely within saidcasing, and a hopper connected with said casing about said inletopening, the surface portion of said barrel being provided withaplurali-ty of pockets extending longitudinally of the barrel, saiddevicelhavinga knifeeedged portion disposed closely adjacentsaid barrelat substantially fillehighest point the path of movementof the surfacethereof, the knifeedge of said portion defining one edge of said inletopen-e ing and extending at an angle to the pockets 7 in the barrel,substantially as described.

, 7. In apparatus of the character described,

aldelvice comprising a cylindrical casing having an upper inlet openingand alower dis: charge opening, a rotatable barrel mounted and fittingclosely Within said casing, and a said inlet opening, the surfaceportion of said barrel being provided with a plurality of pocketsextending longitudinally of the barrel, said device having spacedknife-edged portions disposed closely adjacent said barrel,

the knife edges of said portions respectively defining opposite edges ofsaid inlet opening and extending at an angle to the pockets in thebarrel, substantially as described.

8. In apparatus of the character described, a device comprising acylindrical casing having inlet and discharge openings, a rotatablebarrel mounted and fitting closely Within,

, and rotatable feeding means disposed in said casing for removingmaterial from said hopl per and dlscharging it through said dischargeopening, means for effecting rotation of said feeding means upon slidingmovement of the said device on said support, and means for agitating thecontents of said hopper upon the rotation of the feeding means. i

10. Apparatus of the character described, comprising a hopper having adischarge opening, means for feeding material from the hopper comprisinga rotatable barrel mounted so that the lateral surfacethereof iscontiguous the edges of said opening and only a portion of said surfaceis at any time exposed to the interior of said hopper, the lathopperconnected with said casing about eral surface. portion of the barrelbeing provided with one or more longitudinally extending pockets, and aknife-edged portion disposed closely adjacent the lateral surface of thebarrel with its knife edge defining one edge of said discharge openingand extending at an angle. to the pocket or pockets in the barrel.

11 Apparatus of the character described, I

comprising a hopper, a casing having an inlet opening communicatingwithlsaid .hopper, a rotatable barrel mounted in said casing and fittingclosely about 'said'inlet opening, the lateral surface portion of saidbarrel being provided with one or more longitudinally extending pockets,and a knife-edged portion disposed closely adjacent the lateral surfaceof the barrel with its knife edge defining one edge of said opening andextending 10 at an angle to the pocket or pockets in the barrel. r Thisspecification signed this 7th day'of March, 1929. PAUL D. PAYNE.

MORTON IVERSEN, g

